District Administration - January 2012 - (Page 55)

outsourcing those very services to Futures Education and replacing the dozen staff therapists who would travel to the collaborative’s seven member districts to service almost 180 students. “Our cost savings have been significant year to year,” says Anne McKenzie, the collaborative’s executive director, who adds that Lower Pioneer Valley is the first such organization in the nation to take the outsourcing route. Besides saving more than $100,000 annually for the collaborative and its districts, McKenzie has welcomed the supervisory services provided by Futures. She notes that as the only manager for the collaborative, she lacked the expertise to supervise a staff of licensed therapists. She adds that, in the year prior to outsourcing, her organization lost more than $50,000 in Medicaid reimbursements due to 173 cases of incomplete documentation. Those cases have plummeted by 90 percent, due to Future’s expertise in the reimbursement process. The transition has not occurred without concerns on the part of superintendents and parents alike. “Superintendents were concerned that when you outsource services, the service provider may be less responsive than employees on staff,” McKenzie explains. “We did not find that,” she says, noting that the outsourced therapists have worked well in the schools they have visited and that administrators have been satisfied with their performance. “The biggest concerns came from parents,” McKenzie continues, “because the school-based service providers had established relationships with their children. I took a lot of time explaining to parents what was going to happen [in transitioning to an outside provider and to new specialists]. You cannot overestimate how much parents have to fight for their child’s needs to get met. Any change can be unsettling.” In an ironic twist, in the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District in Missouri, Superintendent David McGehee has actually reduced the outsourcing of services for students with low-incidence special needs from 57 students seven years ago to 17 this year. The change became possible when local voters approved funding for a new central office, freeing up the former headquarters to serve as a building dedicated to more intensive special education services. Now the district relies more on itself and less on outsourcing, and at a $250,000 annual savings on those services. “We weren’t necessarily satisfied with the outside services we were getting,” McGehee observes. “We do a better job of making sure our people are certified in the right areas. You don’t have control over that when you outsource.” DA Ron Schachter is a contributing writer to District Administration. E SAV% NEW from NCTM! 0 3 Make the Most of Math in Your School! Administrator's Guide: Interpreting the Common Core State Standards to Improve Mathematics Education by Matthew R. Larson This updated Administrator’s Guide now positions school and district leaders to make sense of the past decade’s many recommendations with special emphasis on the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Stock # 14288 List Price $21.95 NCTM Member Price $17.56 SALE PRICE $15.36 SAVE 30% off list price on this and ALL NCTM publications until 2/29/12. Use code DIST30 when placing order. Call (800) 235-7566 or visit www.nctm.org/catalog. www.DistrictAdministration.com bkadmin_disadmin112 District Administrator 1/12 January 2012 55 http://www.nctm.org/catalog http://www.nctm.org/catalog http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - January 2012

District Administration - January 2012
Contents
Letters
News Update
Conversations
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Finding the Perfect Fit
Kansas City Plots Next Steps
Seeking Savings in Special Ed
K12 Guide to Audio/Visual Solutions
Equipping Teachers to Infuse Technology
Flipped Classrooms Gaining Ground
Buying in Bulk
Online Identity Management
Going Mobile
Student Counsel
Online Edge
New Books
New Products
Product Focus
Professional Opinion

District Administration - January 2012